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Xie Lian
Xie Lian '(谢怜 Xiè Lián) His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Xian Le, is the main protagonist of the Chinese Webnovel Heaven Official's Blessing ''(Tiān Guān Cì Fú) written by Mò Xiāng Tóngxiù (墨香铜臭). He was widely known throughout the Xian Le nation as the beloved yet strange prince. Never showing interest in what was considered normal for a prince, he simply declared, "I want to save the common people!" Through practice, hard work, and insight beyond his years, he perfected his cultivation and ascended to the Heavens at the age of 17. After multiple unfortunate events, he was twice banished from the Heavens. 800 years later, he returns for the third time with an immense CRASH! ''What kind of story will unfold for this unconventional god? Appearance ''"His golden mask fell off, revealing the young and handsome face previously hidden behind it. '' Often seen in raggedy Taoist robes. Often paired with a conical straw hat (douli). A white wrapping around one hand. He is described as a handsome individual. In his younger years as a prince, he wore extravagant clothing and also wore two red pearls one of which Hua Cheng is currently in possession of. He currently wears a conical straw hat in honor of a nameless farmer who showed him genuine kindness and compassion at his lowest point (restoring his faith in humanity) and wears simple white robes. He tends to wear bandages to hide his cursed shackles. One of the bandages he wears is actually Ruoye. Personality Xie Lian is a kind and gentle person. Having fallen from heaven twice, he is used to looking for and eating scraps to survive. As a result, he is very frugal. Due to all the tragedies and suffering he was forced to endure, he has low self-esteem and insecurities about himself. As a result, he initially did not feel worthy of Hua Cheng's love. He is a kind man who only wants to help others, though his previous attempts have led to failure, the deaths of thousands, the severing of his ties of his close friends and family, and nearly his sanity and faith in humanity (he almost turned into a calamity). As a young God during his first ascension, he was far too idealistic and wanted to be a hero that solved everyone's problems. While still human, he believed everyone had the right to live and wanted to spread happiness to everyone. When he met Hua Cheng (a child born under a cursed star and hated since birth), he comforted the demon, telling him that there was nothing wrong with him being born. He even praised his swordsmanship skills and suggest that he use a sabre instead. He never held his status above others and treated others equally disregarding status as a sign of one's worth. This is evident as Mu Qing, a man born of servant status, was allowed to serve him and when he protected Hua Cheng. He was even willing to disobey rules that gods were not allowed to interfere with the mortal realm to help save his people, though unfortunately, it only led to more deaths. When his own people turned against him, he decided that humanity was no longer worth saving and decided to lay himself into the city with a sword stabbed through his chest and inwardly promised himself that if no one came to help him he would curse the country with the human-faced plague. Unfortunately, no one initially came to help at all, even stepping over him and considering him a nuisance rather than feeling pity for his injury. Eventually, however, an unnamed farmer who initially cussed him out felt pity for Xie Lian and gave him a conical straw hat to help protect him from the sun. When the farmer learned no one had tried to help Xie Lian, he volunteered to do so despite the belief that doing so would lead to a curse. This one person and his kind gesture was enough to restore Xie Lian's faith in humanity, and with Hua Cheng's help (he did not know at the time Hua Cheng was the one helping him), he stopped the plague and decided to rededicate himself to humanity. He does not hold grudges against others and while he does not forget past grievances, most are usually pushed in the back of his mind and he is even willing to save those who have wronged him horribly in the past. He also does not care for the opinions of others, many of whom are hypocrites who look down at him for having fallen twice and for collecting scraps but do far less work than he has ever done and end up trying to get good connections with him after he becomes the strongest god at the end of the novel. He is extremely humble and despite being a poor prince, has resorted to sleeping outside and picking up and eating scraps to survive, something even his former servants Feng Xin and Mu Qing are embarrassed about. When someone does him a favor, he does his absolute best to return the favor such as hiding the fact Hua Cheng, the scourge and feared of all Gods, was traveling with him because Hua Cheng had helped him frequently in the past and even apologizes to Hua Cheng when his investigation involves trespassing Hua Cheng's territory and also led to the destruction of his weapons' vault. He is similarly deeply loyal to those who are kind to him and those he considers friends, such as Shi Qingxuan and Ban Yue. He is extremely polite and even at his angriest never uses derogatory or even insulting language with the one sole exception being during his final showdown with the White Clothed Calamity. Having seen the worst that both humanity and the gods have done, he can also see the best in people such as understanding Mu Qing's nature as being someone very disagreeable and prideful and even willing to abandon his friends for status but not so low as to murder someone. He similarly understood and praised Yin Yu's inner strength and moral character even when tempted with the prospect of restoring his godhood at the expense of his hated younger shidi, Quan Yi Zhen, whom he envied and loathed but respected enough not to steal his godhood from. In the direst of situations he is still able to remain calm and think up strategies on how to save everyone and defeat the enemy. However, when faced with Hua Cheng's flirtatious and romantic gestures he becomes flustered. While strategically intelligent and able to see past peoples' lies and deceptions due to his many years of suffering and witnessing political struggles, he seems partially emotionally unintelligent, especially when it comes to romance, though the numerous tragedies in his life may have worsened him. While he is skilled at fixing and building houses, he is horrible at household chores, being terrible at sewing, cleaning, chores, or cooking. His cooking, in particular, is so bad that no one can stomach his food except Hua Cheng. History Before First Ascension Xie Lian was born to the Emperor and Empress of the nation of Xian Le. The nation was very prosperous; vast resources, beautiful arts, beautiful women, and happy citizens. The prince wanted nothing and was beloved throughout the kingdom. While he was a bit strange, not caring for politics or money, he was strong in his belief that he would be able to help the common people. He studied cultivation from a young age at the renowned Taoist Huang Ji Temple. It was there that he met one of his future generals, Mu Qing. Mu Qing worked as an errand boy at the temple, and only with Xie Lian's recommendation was he given the chance to study cultivation. After First Ascension ''"When people said you were a god, then you were a god. If they said you were sh*t, then you were sh*t. Whatever the people said you were, that was what you became. It had always been like this."Heaven Official's Blessing, Book 1, Chapter 1: Heaven Official's Blessing With his country at the brink of war, against the word of Emperor Jun, Xie Lian descended to the Human Realm to assist the people. However, it is against the rules of Heaven to descend without express permission to the Human Realm, lest tragedy befall the humans. No matter how hard the prince tried, everything he did to help only seemed to make matters worse. In the end, fires and plague spread across the nation, and the rebel armies lay siege to the Imperial City. Although he had meant only to help his people, he had unintentionally been the one to lead the nation to its end. Xie Lian can be seen as the reason why Bai WuXiang was created. "You used your divinity to interfere in mortal matters. The predetermined fate of the Kingdom of XianLe has been turned completely upside down by you, a complete and utter mess. For the sake of balance, nature will breed other things to bring everything you’ve deranged back on track. I don’t know what that creature was, but, I am certain, it was born because of you.” '' "''Because the Kingdom of XianLe was destined to fall. Since you raised your hand and messed up this game of chess, then, there will for sure be another hand that returns all the messed up pieces back in place.” After the unfortunate fall of the Xian Le nation, Xie Lian felt the blow from both the humans and the gods. Where he was once widely worshipped with thousands of shrines, he was now seen as the 'Demon God" who had destroyed the nation. From the Heavens, he received the punishment of banishment, along with the destruction of his cultivation. He was forced back to the Human Realm. Plot The series begins with Xie Lian having ascended for the third time. He is mocked and avoided by the other Gods, a reaction he expected. He is then introduced to Jun Wu, the supreme Martial God who assigns him the task of investigating a strange case of disappearing brides. Relationships '''Family Hua Cheng His husband and lover. Hua Cheng is his most devoted follower. Qi Rong His cousin. Was loyal to him before complications arose and the war which led to the downfall of Xian Le. Mother A kind woman who loved him deeply. Father A stern man he had difficulty talking to despite the fact both loved and cared for each other. Heavenly Officials Feng Xin Former Imperial bodyguard. He was relieved after Xie Lian became dark at his first banishment. Mu Qing Former servant. He left Xie Lian after his first banishment and often talks to him in a sarcastic tone after he ascends to heaven for the third time. At the end of the book, he does claim that all he wished for is to become his friend. Xie Lian holds no grudges towards him, and in fact, saves him when he faces the danger of falling into lava. The two have a steady friendship by the end of the book. Shi Qingxuan One of his closest friends and allies. Yu Shi Huang She lent him a device that provided rain so he could relieve the drought in Yong An. Former Heavenly Officials Mei Nian Qing His teacher and close friend. Abilities *'High Pain Tolerance': Due to the number of torture, battles, and pain he suffered, he has an extremely high tolerance for pain. Even while being mortal, he could go for days without food or water. When he suffered frostbite, he couldn't even remember he had wounds. It is not that he cannot feel pain, but that he has become numb to it. *'High Danger Sense': He has an uncanny ability to sense danger that he has high pride on (and has proven to be correct in his intuition each and every time). *'Swordsmanship Skills': Due to collecting scraps most do not realize he ascended the first time due to his swordsmanship skills. He is so good that he can use only a branch to dispatch of over 30 heavenly officials. *'Intelligence': He has proven to be one of the most intelligent characters of the series, managing to figure out mysteries and motivations of other characters and trick even Ling Wen ZhenJun (the highest literature God and therefore one of the smartest Gods) into revealing her crimes. He has also used this to be able to see through people's illusions and disguises by seeing flaws in their personality or appearance to distinguish them from the original (such as the fake Feng Xin and Mu Qing sent by Jun Wu). *'Immortality': He was cursed by Jun Wu to the extent that he could never die no matter what injuries he sustained. *'Physical Strength': He is strong enough to break four stone tablets onto his chest with no injuries (when a strong mortal attempted to do it he crippled himself). *'Agility': He is capable of running great speeds and also jumping high distances. *'Spiritual Powers': He regains spiritual powers after ascending to godhood for the third time. This includes using light, having a spiritual shield on his body, and communicating via the spiritual array among other uses. *'Multilingual': Jun Wu implanted in him the ability to understand the emotions and language of the WuYong tongue when spoken by the WuYong people though when Hua Cheng reiterated the same words he couldn't understand him. *'Bad Cooking Skills': His cooking skills are so bad that he has actually managed to weaponize it. His cooking has even caused the likes of gods such as Pei Ming, Quan Yi Zhen, Ling Wen, Zhen Jun, Feng Xing, and Mu Qing faint along with two of the four calamities: Qi Rong and He Xuan. Hua Cheng is one of the only people to be able to eat his cooking. *'Calligraphy': Having been taught calligraphy by some of the best teachers as a child, he has one of the best handwriting of the characters in the series. *'Bad Fortune': While not necessarily an ability, due to his second fall from heaven and a cursed shackle on his neck and ankle, he suffers from having a lousy fortune. It is the main reason he frequently lost jobs as lightning would strike him or some accident would occur wherever he appeared. Tools/Weapons Ruoye "Xie Lian sat upright in the sedan before gently ordering, "Strangle them to death". In the midst of the night, a white viper suddenly swam out." [https://www.sakhyulations.com/novel/heaven-officials-blessing/chapter-7/ Heaven Official's Blessing, Book 1, Chapter 7: '''The Ghost Holds a Wedding, The Crown Prince Climbs Onto the Marriage Sedan', Part 2]'' Xie Lian is seen using a type of silk bandage called, "Ruoye". These bandages wrap around his hands and arms and are normally covered by his sleeves. While dormant, they can pass as normal bandages. When Xie Lian comes into contact with danger''', '''the silk seems to have the ability to act on its own, as a sort of automatic defense. It can also be controlled manually when given direct instruction by Xie Lian, as seen here in chapter 7. While Xie Lian is unable to use spiritual power, due to the curse mark on his neck, it seems that the Ruoye does not require this to be activated. He says to Nan Feng that there will "Inevitably be exceptions to everything." He does not explain further as to what power source is used to control the silk. Fang Xin ''"After hundreds of years, Fang Xin finally returned to the hands of its master. It moaned softly in Xie Lian's hands." Heaven Official's Blessing, Book 1, Chapter 48: Adroit Dice for the Safety of Only One, Part 1 '''Fang Xin '''is the sword wielded by Xie Lian in his role as Head Priest to Yong An is named Fang Xin. After his execution, Lang Qian Qiu carries Fang Xin until he confronts Xie Lian outside Qi Rong's lair. Fang Xin is described as being ''"long and slender... The sword was dark like black jade, deep and foreboding, smoother than a mirror, and if anyone were to go near, they could see their own reflection in the blade. Only the thin, silver white line of the heart of the sword cut across the blade in half." '' Trivia * As a former prince, he is well versed in all the arts such as music dancing and calligraphy. He often sold goods, played instruments and sang songs on the street after his second ascension to Godhood and quick demotion to the mortal realm (but due to a curse by the White Masked Calamity is immortal). * His path of cultivation required him to abstain from worldly pleasures such as sex and alcohol. As a result, he was a virgin for 800 years until his marriage with Hua Cheng. While still powerful, his cultivation abilities have decreased significantly after his marriage for obvious reasons. * He has notoriously terrible luck, whether it pertains to gambling, drawing fortune sticks, or encountering tedious trouble. References Category:Characters Category:Male Characters Category:Heavenly Officials